Admirals Kick Off Road Trip with 6-3 Win in Albany

ALBANY, N.Y. – Six different Admirals netted goals – including four tallies in the first period alone – as the Norfolk Admirals (7-3-1-1) claimed a 6-3 win over the Albany Devils (6-6-0-0) to open a five-game road trip on Wednesday night at the Times Union Center.

The Admirals received goals from Blair Jones, Paul Szczechura, Stefano Giliati, James Wright, Johan Harju and Matt Fornataro in the victory. Norfolk goaltender Cedrick Desjardins stopped 22 of 25 shots for his fourth win of the season.

The Admirals took a 1-0 lead on Jones’ fifth goal of the season 6:23 into the first period. Marc-Antoine Pouliot sent a feed from the right corner to Jones behind the net. Jones emerged near the left leg of Devils goaltender Jeff Frazee and backhanded the rebound of his initial shot through Frazee’s legs.

Norfolk added three more goals in the final five minutes of the first period. Roy sent a pass from the right circle to Szczechura at the top of the left circle. Szczechura scored his sixth goal of the season after one-timing the puck past the right leg of Frazee for a power play goal at 16:45.

The Admirals went up 3-0 less than one minute later on Giliati’s first goal as an Admiral. He attempted a pass from the right circle that deflected off the stick and skate of an Albany defender in the slot and the puck trickled past Frazee at 17:25.

The visitors struck again less than a minute later. Szczechura sent a pass from behind the net to Wright in the slot. Wright one-timed the puck past Frazee blocker-side at 18:20 for his fourth goal of the season.

Albany got on the board with 50 seconds remaining in the first period as Matt Anderson sent a wraparound shot into the net.

The Devils struck again 3:13 into the second period. Nick Palmieri sent a shot from in tight over the left leg of Desjardins to cut the Admirals’ lead to 4-2.

Albany closed to within a goal of Norfolk at 15:42. Mark Fayne sent a shot from the right point that Desjardins stopped. However, Anderson found the rebound and sent it into the net to make it 4-3 Norfolk.

The Admirals re-claimed their two-goal lead under three minutes later with Harju’s team-leading seventh goal of the season. While skating on a five-on-three power play, Roy attempted a shot from the left point, but the puck instead wound up in the right faceoff circle. Harju found the loose puck and sent a quick shot past Frazee at 18:14 to stretch Norfolk’s lead to 5-3.

Fornataro’s fourth goal of the season closed scoring on the game and put the Admirals up 6-3 mid-way through the third period. Fornataro entered the attacking zone along the left wing and deked across the slot past two sliding Albany defenders. Fornataro sent a wrist shot from between the hashmarks through the legs of Frazee at 9:41.

The Admirals will continue their five-game road trip on Friday night in Adirondack with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop against the Phantoms. Follow all of the action on 102.1-FM, 1490-AM, 1021TheGame.com and AHLLive.com. The Admirals return to Scope on Saturday, November 20, to battle with the Adirondack Phantoms.

The Admirals will hold United States Marine Corps Night on Saturday, November 20. All active duty and retired members of the U.S. Marine Corps (and their dependents) may purchase $10 Red Level Tickets (normally $14) for this game at norfolkadmirals.com.

Also on November 20, former Pro Bowl Washington Redskins linebacker Chris Hanburger will sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans. More details will be available as the game approaches.

Individual tickets for all regular season games start at just $12. Tickets are available now at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 and online at ticketmaster.com.

Don’t miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2010-11 season tickets today. Season tickets start at just $350 while 10-Packs are available for as little as $110. Stop by the Admirals’ Administrative Offices at Scope, call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit norfolkadmirals.com anytime!

NOTES … Norfolk has scored five or more goals in exactly half of their games this season (six of 12 games) and has scored six or more goals in one-third of their games (four of 12) … Twelve of Norfolk’s 18 skaters registered a point in the game – including six multiple-point performers (Paul Szczechura, James Wright, Matt Fornataro and Johan Harju each with a goal and an assist and Ty Wishart and Mathieu Roy with two assists apiece) … Blair Jones, who was returned to Norfolk on Sunday after a four-game NHL stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning, scored a goal in his first game back with the Admirals and has points in each of his last six games with Norfolk (3G, 6A) … Norfolk has out-shot its opponent in ten of its opening 12 games … The Admirals have won the first two all-time games against the Albany Devils (both on the road) … Scratches: Kevin Quick, Juraj Simek, Scott Jackson, Tim Marks, Mitch Fritz … Attendance: 1,598.